


Opportunities

by The_Sickfic_Sideblog



Series: Sick Klance [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: College AU, Hurt/Comfort, Light Headedness, M/M, Sickfic, cough, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 10:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10435986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sickfic_Sideblog/pseuds/The_Sickfic_Sideblog
Summary: The cute guy in that sits in front of Lance catches a nasty cough. Lance seizes his opportunities.





	

Lance hadn’t noticed the boy before. He hadn’t noticed that mullet hair, or that red jacket, or that little glance they shared when the boy would walk in a minute before class started-

Okay, maybe he’d noticed. But that’s just because the guy sat in front of him in the lecture hall! How could he not look at the way his stupid hair turned up at the ends or the  _ stupid _ way he twirled his  _ stupid _ pencil with his  _ stupid nice fingers- _

Okay. Maybe he’d done  _ more _ than notice. Maybe he’d put in some extra effort into trying to see the boy’s name on his test. Maybe he’d lost track of class while watching the boy lazily doodle on his notes. Maybe he’d seen ‘Keith Kogane’ on the list of packages at the front desk of his dorm hall and almost choked. Just maybe, though. Probably not. Definitely not.

This day was a test day. Midterms, to be exact, and Lance was wondering how he’d be able to focus with Keith sitting in front of him as usual. His grades were already taking a dip, this was a test he couldn’t afford to fail. Lance even considered switching seats in the class - it wasn’t like grade school with assigned seats. He considered this three weeks ago, but there he was, sitting in the same chair.

_ Just focus on the test...  _ He told himself as the room around him began to fill up,  _ You’ve done it before. ‘Eyes on your own paper’, like they always say. _

His plan was immediately shattered when the boy  _ he definitely hadn’t noticed before  _ walked in, one minute until class started as usual. Instead of the normal blinding-red jacket, he sported a much darker, much heavier overcoat. His neck was wrapped up in a long scarf, which draped all the way down to his hips-

Lance snapped his eyes up.  _ Focus, McClain! _ He tried to shove all non-academic ideas out of his head when a very logical one wiggled its way in.

_ It’s spring semester. Everyone’s wearing shorts. Why is he wearing a scarf? _

With all the secrecy he could muster, Lance watched. Only because he was concerned! He wasn’t watching because the ends of the scarf were catching his eye like a cat with a toy. Definitely just concerned.

He got his answer quickly. When Keith sat down in his normal spot, he pulled out a small packet of tissues and coughed into one. Lance couldn’t help but cringe. He sounded awful, like he was bringing up something from the very bottom of his lungs. Other students silently cursed, praying this wouldn’t last for the entire test.

As the professor passed out the scantrons, Lance found himself even more distracted than usual. Keith would periodically hack up a lung during the test, but this distraction was something else. His mind kept wandering into worry between the test questions.

_ I wonder what he has. Must be bad if he’s wearing those heavy clothes. Why’d he come to class if he’s that bad off? Focus, Lance, this is an important test. I wonder if the cough’s affecting his test. Does he have bad enough grades that he’ll go to class even when this sick? God, he sounds really bad, someone should make sure he’s alright... _

Before Lance knew it, Keith was standing up and turning in his scantron. Lance acted without thinking. This might be his only shot. He quickly bubbled in the rest of the scantron, randomly picking letters down the line, scooped up his bag, and dashed out the door.

Normally, it’d be easy to spot Keith in a crowd. His red jacket was an immediate marker. But with the dark overcoat, Lance had to pause and actually look. Luckily, he found the boy stopped, digging through his backpack and pulling out a woolen beanie. He tugged it on just as Lance approached him.

“Hey, you’re Keith Kogane, right?”

Keith startled, not expecting someone to talk to him. He turned into his elbow, coughing until he could get a solid breath.

“Yeah. You sit behind me, right?”

_ Oh god, he sounds congested too... _

“Yeah, I just got done with the test,” Lance realized he had no natural segway, “How, uh....how are you feeling- how did you feel? About that test- how did you feel about that test?” He smiled, trying not to let the blood rush to his cheeks.

Keith seemed to occupied with rewrapping his scarf to question the stammering, “S’fine, I guess. It was all in the book. You?”

“Oh- yeah! Yeah, it was all in the book! Super easy, am I right? Just breezed right through it!” Lance laughed a tiny bit and fiddled with his backpack strap, “Hey, you, uh....you sounded pretty awful in there. You okay?”

Normally, Keith would object to being called awful in any capacity, but he had some awareness of his own situation. “Yeah, caught something bad last night. My roommate had it about a week ago.” Before he could reach down to grab his backpack, his chest convulsed again, this time having him lean against a wall to support himself as he coughed.

Again, Lance acted before thinking, “Here, I’ll get it for you,” he scooped up Keith’s backpack and slung it over his free shoulder, “You should head home and take a nap or something. Do you have any other classes today?”

Keith shook his head as he sucked in a deep breath. His lungs were on fire but did nothing to warm him up. “I can carry my bag, I’m fine.”

“No, it’s alright, I’ll carry it. We’re headed to the same place anyway.”

Keith narrowed his eyebrows, “How...do you know where I live?”

Lance swallowed hard, “Oh, I see you come and go. I live in the same hall. You kind of stick out like a sore thumb with that jacket of yours.”

_ Lance, you are the worst, _ he thought.

But Keith accepted the answer, headache telling him not to think too hard about it, “Alright. Thanks. What was your name again?”

“Lance McClain.”

* * *

 

The two walked the length of campus, that lecture hall being the furthest from the hall physically possible. With no classes to hurry them along, the two took it slow for Keith’s sake. They occasionally had to stop and wait for Keith’s coughing fit to subside. It hurt Lance’s heart to hear him cough so hard, he almost wished he hadn’t bothered chasing Keith out in the first place.

Still, he was happy he could talk to Keith along the way. He did most of the talking anyway, not wanting to hurt Keith’s throat any more than it already was. In Lance’s book, it was a huge success - he’d gotten Keith to smile, even laugh a small bit.

Lance held the door to the dorm open, both backpacks still on his shoulders, “What floor are you on?”

“Fifth.”

Lance almost choked, “Hey, that’s my floor too!”

The two started up the stairs, with Lance leading the way. He continued to talk about his family, telling anecdotes of awkward family gatherings and how they played out. He turned around to gage Keith’s reaction but found that he wasn’t being followed anymore.

“Keith?”

The familiar harsh coughing sounded from a flight of stairs down, and Lance quickly backtracked. Keith was leaning heavily against the railing, face paler than usual.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Lance asked, placing a hand on Keith’s back. He expected him to pull away (he didn’t look like the kind of guy who liked to be touched), but felt him shaking instead.

“Light headed...might pass out...” Keith breathed, trying to fight against the tickle resurfacing in his throat. He focused his gaze on a crack in the wall.

“What?! Do you know why?”

“Didn’t eat breakfast this morning...” he muttered, sounding a tad ashamed of himself.

Lance was shocked. He ate at least three bowls of cereal every morning, how could someone not eat any breakfast? “Why not?!”

“Wasn’t hungry, slept in late, had the midterm...” He could go on, but the darkness at the edges of his vision begged him to stop. He leaned against the stairwell wall, taking very deep breaths and trying to remain conscious.

Lance quickly assessed the surroundings. He wasn’t about to let Keith climb any more stairs, but they were on the third floor. He immediately saw another opportunity he would never get again.

“You can’t walk up the stairs like this, let me carry you.”

Lance had to physically turn away and cringe.  _ You are an idiot, Lance! Stupid, stupid, stupid- _

“Actually...that might be for the best...”

Lance whipped back around, “Wait,  _ really _ ?”

Keith nodded, “Only if you can manage...just feeling really woozy...don’t think I could make it up the stairs...”

There was no hesitation. Lance scooped up Keith by the shoulders and the knees and made his way up the stairs. His muscles may have been screaming for him to stop, but his heart was relishing every second of it, even when Keith coughed in his arms, likely spreading the bug directly.

When he reached the fifth floor, Lance had to pause and set Keith down. His breathing was just as bad as the sick boy he’d just carried up the stairs. Though he wanted to continue, there was no way his arms were going to let him.

“Go slow,” he panted, keeping a hand on Keith’s back, “I’ll catch you.”

The two staggered their way to Keith’s dorm room as Keith fumbled in his pockets for the keys. He shoved them into the doorknob and turned.

“Don’t think Pidge is home. You can come in.”

“What kind of name is Pidge?”

“Fuck if I know.” Keith pushed open the door and immediately stumbled to his bed. The sigh of relief when he hit the pillow was music to Lance’s ears.

Lance put Keith’s backpack down in the corner, “Is there anything I can get you while I’m here?”

Keith shook his head, “No,” he smiled weakly, “But thank you. I’d probably be passed out in the stairwell with a cracked skull if you weren't’ there.”

Lance couldn’t help but grin back, “No problem. Rest up, okay?” He turned to leave the room but honed in on his final opportunity of the day.

“Wait, can I see your phone?”

“S’in my bag. Why?”

Lance fished out the outdated phone, and handed it to Keith, “Unlock it.”

Keith did as such. With a few taps, Lance handed it back. On the screen was a new contact and phone number.

“Go ahead and text me if you need anything, alright? I’m right down the hall.”

Keith nodded, thanked Lance with a small smile and a thumbs-up, and drifted off to much-needed sleep. Lance left as quietly as possible, unable to control the grin on his face.

* * *

 

A day later, Lance received a text from an unfamiliar number.

_ K: Lance? It’s Keith from yesterday. _

_ L: yeah what is it? how are u doing? _

_ K: Much better, but could you do me a favor? _

_ L: sure do u need me 2 pick up some medicine? or i can take ur notes _

_ K: No, I need you to go out to lunch with me tomorrow. _

_ L: ??? _

_ K: Trust me, it’s imperative to helping me feel better. _

_ L: i can do that. i can definitely do that. _


End file.
